{% extends "global/Page.html" %} {% load otree %} {% block title %} Game Instructions and Payment {% endblock %} {% block styles %} {% endblock %} {% block content %}

You are about to participate in a study that involves making decisions in an online group game. In the study, it is possible for you to earn money on top of your base payment of $6.50 during participation.

You are likely to earn more money if you:

Your earnings will be based on your decisions in different decision rounds, and will be calculated in points. At the end of the study, the points you earned will be converted into US Dollars at the following exchange rate:

250 points = 1 USD

Example: 1000 points = 4 USD

The program will randomly select 5 rounds for payment and you will be paid based on the total points earned in those rounds. In addition to these earnings, you will receive a fixed amount of 6.50 USD for completing the study plus $1.5 (£1.25 on prolific) for waiting up to 10 minutes at the start of the study for other participants to arrive. At the end of the session, your total payment will be:

$6.50 (Completion) + $1.50 (Waiting) + Sum of 5 selected rounds

Game Structure

You will partake in an online decision game with 23 other participants. The game has two phases:

Phase 1

Between 10 and 20 rounds

Phase 2

45 rounds

We will make it very clear when you are in Phase 1 and when you are in Phase 2.

You and all other players have a position within a network. That just means that you will be directly connected - be neighbours with - only specific players in the entire group. Players directly connected to you are your neighbours. Each player has a unique set of neighbours. For example, your network position with your four neighbours could look like this:

{% load otree static %}
Network Diagram

This is an example, the exact structure of your position is not relevant for you throughout the experiment.

For your final reward, the decisions of you and your neighbors are most important. More on that below.

Please note: The other players in your game, their network positions, and your neighbours will remain the same throughout Phase 1 and 2.

Decisions & Payoffs

In every round, you and all other players will simultaneously and privately choose between two options. These options will be represented by a choice label and will determine your payoffs on any given round. As an example, if the choice labels were # and @, your payoff table would look as follows:

{% for val in choice_order %}

Option {% if val == 1 %}{{ label_for_1 }}{% else %}{{ label_for_0 }}{% endif %}

{% if val == 1 %}{{ base_1 }}{% else %}{{ base_0 }}{% endif %}
base points
+
[(Number of matching neighbours / 4) × {{ ep }}]
bonus points
{% endfor %}

As you can see above, your payoff consists of two parts that are added together for your total round earnings:

Part 1 base points

This depends only on which option you pick. For example, if you pick @, you receive 100 base points regardless of what others do.

Part 2 bonus points

This depends on both your choice and your neighbours. The more of your neighbours who made the same choice as you, the more points you earn.

The choices will be the same for each player throughout the whole game. As the choices, the payoff table is in principle the same for the whole game. However, the magnitude of the base points will change from Phase 1 to Phase 2:

{% for val in choice_order %}

Option {% if val == 1 %}{{ label_for_1 }}{% else %}{{ label_for_0 }}{% endif %}

100
base points
+
[(Number of matching neighbours / 4) × {{ ep }}]
bonus points
{% endfor %}

Example of how a round works

For example, you are in Phase 1 and your payoff table looks like this:

{% for val in choice_order %}

Option {% if val == 1 %}{{ label_for_1 }}{% else %}{{ label_for_0 }}{% endif %}

{% if val == 1 %}{{ base_1 }}{% else %}{{ base_0 }}{% endif %}
base points
+
[(Number of matching neighbours / 4) × {{ ep }}]
bonus points
{% endfor %}

In private, you choose # . When all players had made their decisions the choices of your 4 neighbours will be presented to you like this:

3

Neighbours chose #

1

Neighbours chose @

In addition, your payoff for that round will be presented like this:

Because you selected #,
you will receive 50 base points.

Because 3 of your 4 neighbours have also decided for #,
you will receive 112.5 bonus points .
50
base points
+
[(3 / 4) × 150] = 112.5
bonus points
=

Total: 162.5

For example, if in that round instead you had chosen @ . Your payoff for that round would look like this:

Because you selected @,
you will receive 100 base points.

Because 1 of your 4 neighbours have also decided for @,
you will receive 37.5 bonus points .
100
base points
+
[(1 / 4) × 150] = 37.5
bonus points
=

Total: 137.5

Please note: You will not be able to see what your neighbours have chosen before you decide. Throughout the game, you will be shown a payoff table indicating how much YOU will earn based on the choices, but this does NOT show how much your neighbours will earn.

Anonymity & Time Limits

This is a group game played in real time with real people. You will never know who the other participants in this study are and they will never know who you are. Your participation and decisions will stay anonymous throughout and beyond this study.

Please answer the following questions based on the instructions you just read to proceed to the game.

1. Approximately how many rounds will be played in total across Part 1 and Part 2?

{% formfield player.quiz_total_rounds label="" %}

2. How many rounds of the game will determine your bonus payment?

{% formfield player.quiz_payment_rounds label="" %}

3. Will the players who are assigned as your neighbours change between Phase 1 and Phase 2?

{% formfield player.quiz_neighbors_change label="" %}

4. Which players are your neighbours?

{% formfield player.quiz_neighbors label="" %}

5. Your bonus points each round depend on...?

{% formfield player.quiz_bonus_points label="" %}

6. Given the payoff table below, what will you earn if you and all five of your neighbours choose @?

{% for val in choice_order %}

Option {% if val == 1 %}{{ label_for_1 }}{% else %}{{ label_for_0 }}{% endif %}

{% if val == 1 %}{{ base_1 }}{% else %}{{ base_0 }}{% endif %}
basis points
+
[(Number of matching neighbours / 5) × {{ ep }}]
coordination bonus points
{% endfor %}
{% formfield player.quiz_math_1 label="" %}

7. Given the payoff table below, what will you earn if you and only one of your six neighbours choose @?

{% for val in choice_order %}

Option {% if val == 1 %}{{ label_for_1 }}{% else %}{{ label_for_0 }}{% endif %}

100
basis points
+
[(Number of matching neighbours / 6) × {{ ep }}]
coordination bonus points
{% endfor %}
{% formfield player.quiz_math_2 label="" %}

8. Will the other players be able to connect your decisions with you as a person?

{% formfield player.quiz_anonymity label="" %}
{% endblock %}